President Bush’s pledge the day after the elections to be more bipartisan apparently doesn’t include judicial nominations. He resubmitted a list of nominees that Senate Democrats have already rejected and that have no hope of being approved. One nominee — Michael B. Wallace (in photo) — was rated unqualified by the American Bar Association and has been accused by Democrats of being hostile to civil rights and to the poor.
Why is Bush doing this? Steven Thomma of McClatchy Newspapers wrote that the renominations could be part of Bush’s negotiations with Democrats. Or they could be an attempt to paint Democrats as obstructionist. Or they could be an attempt to rally a demoralized conservative base.
But a New York Times editorial concluded that “the renominations suggest that when it comes to filling judgeships, Mr. Bush is still not looking for either excellence or common ground.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The Kansas State Board of Education rightly will review — again — the travel policy for its members, in light of the plan of defeated incumbent Connie Morris (in photo) to spend a taxpayer-subsidized week related to immigration and education in Washington, D.C., after her final meeting as a board member. The policy, which was reviewed last year after another Morris abuse, still apparently doesn’t prevent such lame-duck junkets. Even so, Morris should have canceled all travel plans as soon as she lost the Aug. 1 primary. She was mistaken when she said last week that had she opted not to take two trips in her final three months in office, her actions “would have said I slacked in my duty.” As fellow board member Janet Waugh of Kansas City, Kan., said in seeking another review: “Sometimes what is legal is not necessarily ethical.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
There were a lot of lessons to be taken from the Vietnam War. But how many agree with the one George Bush identified during his first visit to the nation, words to the effect of “stay the course”?
Reflecting on the changes since the war and the fall of Saigon, Bush talked of history’s long march and emphasized the time it can take for an “ideology of freedom” to “overcome an ideology of hate.”
He added: “We’ll succeed, unless we quit.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Good for Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans (in photo) for wanting to add accountability to executive sessions. Mayans suggested at a council meeting earlier this month that the council audiotape its executive sessions, which are closed to the public. Then, if there is a dispute about whether the council violated the state’s open meetings law, a judge could listen to the portion of the session in dispute and make a decision.
The same proposal was considered as a law change by the Legislature last session, but it didn’t advance, in part because of opposition by school districts and county governments. But as council member Paul Gray noted, taping meetings can protect both open government and council or board members, who may be wrongly accused of violating the law or of saying something that they didn’t say.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Trust the federal government to attack a problem by replacing one good word with four fuzzy ones.
“Hunger,” for example. The Washington Post reports that this year, the Agriculture Department has decided the word “hunger” is insufficient to describe the estimated 12 percent of Americans who don’t have enough to eat. So in its annual report on the subject, it’s going with the phrase “very low food security.”
Just doesn’t have the same ring, does it? Maybe that’s why some anti-hunger groups call the change “a huge disservice” to those who lack food.
It doesn’t do much for the language either. Imagine Scarlett O’Hara vowing, “I’ll never experience very low food security again.”
Posted by Dave Knadler
